I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

Why am I so excited to read this book? Well, in case you missed my review for the first book, Die For Me, then click on the title to read it. Once you read it, you'll understand. I absolutely fell in love with the first book, and immediately upon finishing it, I put the second one on hold at my local library. This series is just so amazingly flawless, in my opinion that is. Plus, Amy Plum's books have some of the most gorgeous covers I have ever laid my eyes on.

Friday, January 25, 2013

In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

“I had feared that love would make me vulnerable. Instead I felt empowered.” ― Amy Plum, Die for Me

When I opened to the first page of this book, never didI expect it instantly become one of my favorite books of all time. If there is such thing as love at first sight with books, then that's what this was. The cover alone was enough to make me want to love it, but the story that lied inside far surpassed the book's outer beauty.

Of course, there is that sort of insta-love that is oh-so popular in YA these days that makes some of us cringe inside, but the romance between Katie and Vincent was just so sweet and gentle that I couldn't not love them. And then there was also the cliched beginning where you find out the protagonist's parents have died and that's why she moves in with her grandparents. It seems that someone is always dead at the start of YA fiction because the death of a loved one always sparks the beginning of all the crazy, unreal events that, essentially, brings the story to life. Not that I'm really complaining; if no one ever died in these books, it seems like nothing would ever happen and we wouldn't have a story to read.

Reading Die For Me was like a breathe of fresh air. Revenants? What the heck it that?! It was refreshing to not have to deal with the cliched paranormal/fantasy elements in most other YA novels. Die For Me definitely had its own unique plotline that had me hooked from page one. I could not put this book down for anything; I ended up neglecting my rather immense homework load in order to finish it. Luckilly, there's the weekend to do my homework!

I have to admit, the romance was my favorite part. I cannot really explain why; I am jsut a huge sucker for it. The action, however, was just great. Though, honestly, the fight with Lucien kind of grossed me out. I do not want to go into much detail about it in case those of you reading this review have not read the book, but some of the imagery I was getting in my head as I read that part was just, "Blehhh!"

So I have to be honest with you guys: this book did make me cry...but just a bit. I cannot remember what part it was, but somewhere in this book, I teared up. I slapped myself silly for it too; curse myself for getting so emotionally involved with books! >:(

The characters were all so amazing! There is not one that I can honestly admit to not liking, even poor Charles who seems to hate Katie. Vincent is the best fictional boyfriend ever! I never wanted to be one of those girls who gets all crazy about fictional males, but yeah, if he were to just magically pop out of the book and into my life, I wouldn't complain. Katie was a great protagonist. Her life was completely turned upside down when her parents died and then she finds out the guy she likes isn't quite human, so it is pretty understandable how she is slightly unstable. But as the book goes on, she grows as a character and becomes more confident about herself and starts to accept the reality she lives in. Jules! I love him! He is just so adorable and seems like so much fun to be around. The rest of the gang is great too.

Overall, this book was just out of this world. Yep, it was awesome. Hopefully, if you read it too, you agree, if not...well then, that's a bit awkward :)

I would recommend this book to everyone I know who enjoys a good paranormal romance. Already have the second book on hold at my library, which I cannot wait to read!

So I have recently joined another group on GoodReads which I told myself I would not do anymore, but I did anyway. This particular group hosts an A-Z Challenge, which I always hear about, but never participated in. So I decided this year I will give it a try. For anyone else who wishes to start their own challenges, or know more about what the challenge entails, I am posting the rules below:

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Rules:Duration: January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013.

You can read in any order you wish.

Although we are a YA Book Club, for this challenge, if you wish, you can read adult books as well, as long as at least 50% of the books read are young adult.

You have 12 months to read 26 books.

Either the first word in the title of the books or the author’s name (first or last) should correspond with a letter in the alphabet.

You should omit “a” and “the” in the titles.

Letters Q, X and Z can be positioned anywhere in the titles or author names.

Examples: C - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, D - Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

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The books I chose for my challenge are listed below. As I complete a book from the list, I will cross it out. I'll be adding a tab on the top of my blog for easier access.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

With cover art from the major motion picture, this first installment of Rick Riordan's best-selling series is a non-stop thrill-ride and a classic of mythic proportions.

I am going to be completely honest and admit that I saw the movie before I read this book and I liked it. Now, I know many people who would happily flog me (yes flog) for liking the movie adaptation, but I always feel the need to remind them that when I first saw it, I had not read the book and therefore had nothing to compare it to. Upon completing the book, I can admit I see what people were so angry about; the book and movie are completely different. And I understand the anger. But just to clear the air, I still like the movie...now, let me elaborate. When looking at the movie from the perspective of it being based on a book, then yes, I agree it is a pretty poor adaptation. But, if one were to look at the movie itself, without comparing it to anything, then in my opinion, it is pretty awesome.

So now that that is out of the way, let's talk about the book!

I feel like such a complete fool for not reading this book earlier, espeically when I was around the age group the book it targeted for. I admit, it was weird for awhile reading a book about a twelve year old after so many years in YA now, but after a while, the weirdness faded.

I have always loved mythology; especially Greek. In school, I enjoyed the lessons about all the different gods and what they all stood for. So naturally, I was excited going into this book. Also, one of my best friends kept pushing it on me.

The characters had personality, depth, and most importantly, grew as the story continued. At the beginning, Percy changed so much from the beginning of the book to the end. He had much more confidence towards the end of the book, which is always great to see in a character. Grover also grew as a character. He was always sort of stuttering around, and seemed just a tad cowardly, but was a loyal, trustworthy friend. Percy and Annabeth could count on him when he was needed most. Annabeth I will admit, I found a bit annoying at first. She was sort of rude and irritating, but I found myself liking her a lot more as the story unfolded.

The plot of the story had me interested the whole time. However, it was a bit predictable at times. The action was fun and exciting.

I really liked this book, but I didn't LOVE it, hence the 4 out of 5 stars. Overall, it was a fun read. I wasn't expecting it to be the best book ever, and I wasn't too hard on it because I knew it was aimmed at the younger audiences. Though, I feel as though everyone, no matter what age, should read this book at some point in their lives just because it's a fun read for any age. Planning on reading the next book soon. I actually borrowed it from my friend but left it at my house when I came back to school from break. So I'll just have to wait until my next visit, or get it from the library. :)

Below, I am posting the trailer for the movie (with the amazing Logan Lerman ;) lol)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This meme highlights some of the books whose releases bloggers are most anticipating this year.

The book whose release I am most excited for this week is...

Just Like Fate

By: Cat Patrick & Suzanne Young

Expected publication: August 27th 2013

Just Like Fate follows the dual possible narratives that spring from one girl's fateful choice: to stay by her dying grandmother's bedside, or to go to a party and miss her grandmother's last moments.

So I know what you are all thinking: the synopsis is not very long, and in all honesty, not very interesting. I admit, it sounds like it is about a vain teenage girl. I mean, who would go to a party when their grandmother is dying? But despite my own skepticism, I absolutely love Cat Patrick's writing so I am willing to give it a try. And who knows? Maybe it is better than it sounds.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.At least, that's what I thought.Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.There was a curse.There was a girl.And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

The story takes place in a southern town very much
like old Savannah, Georgia. They have a very strong, and slightly obsessive,
sentiment towards the civil war. However, they only see the war from one side:
the South’s. As far as they are concerned, they won the war.

I loved that the authors really nailed the character
development. In my opinion, there has to be character development for a story
to be even remotely interesting. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times
I have ended up loathing a book because the character makes the same mistakes
over and over and never learns a thing, or they never grow as a person
throughout the novel. In this story, the
authors have done an amazing job! The main characters each have unique, yet
believable, backstories. They also remain true to themselves throughout the
story, never straying from who they are. The characters grow and mature. More
importantly, they have their own epiphanies and realizations about the events
in the book.

Lena, poor Lena. I felt so terribly bad for her
throughout the book. She was treated so horribly by the kids at school and the
rest of the town in general. Ethan was such a sweet heart to Lena and I was
glad to see that this story lacked a love triangle. Love triangles seem to be
in almost every piece of YA fiction these days, and while sometimes they make
the story interesting, most of the time, they are just irritating. Link was an
awesome best friend! I would love to meet him, if he was real that is. Amma
could be…scary at times. She was definitely a little out there with her strange
rituals and charms, but she cared for Ethan which is what matters. I had mixed
feelings for Uncle Macon for a while, and honestly, I am not quite sure still
where I stand with him.

The plot, while I found it somewhat predictable, was
intriguing. I was never bored while reading, though I was disappointed when I
saw a major event coming before it happened. Naturally, most people like being
right about these kinds of things, and I normally agree, however I found it
rather tiresome that I was almost always right; it left out the element of
surprise. The predictably alone it the only reason why I did not give the book
5 stars.

I will definitely read the rest of the series (I
already have a BEAUTIFUL box-set I received for Christmas ;)). And naturally, I
will watch the movie. However, I am already disappointed by what I see in the
trailers. I am especially disappointed to hear that Aunt Marian isn’t even in
the movie. I have heard that they are combining Amma and Marian’s roles, which
to me, makes little sense. Both characters played a huge role in helping Lena
and Ethan, so I don’t quite see how this combo is going to work (if it’s true
that is).But what are your views on the
book and movie? I’ll be sure to post my thoughts on it next month when I get
around to seeing it J